Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices for securing tubes and, more particularly, to devices for securing a tube, e.g., a breathing tube, to a patient, e.g., to an infant's head, and methods of manufacturing the same.
Description of Related Art
Devices and methods of securing medical tubes to patients for receiving fluids and/or for the treatment of diseases are known. The most common method is the use of adhesive tape to secure tubing to the patient. However, more recent research has shown that removing adhesives from the skin of premature infants is the leading cause of infection in the intensive care unit. Thus, applying tape to a premature infant's skin is not desirable but, rather, a tapeless method is preferable. There are many known devices that utilize straps with hook/loop fasteners to secure tubing to a patient but none of these are designed with the premature infant's skin in mind. While the hazards of applying and removing adhesives from a premature infant's skin are known, there is a paucity of adhesive free options for the clinician at the bedside due at least in part to the design challenges associated with proper holding of life support tubes onto newborn infants and/or the ergonomic requirements thereof.
One area of particular interest is the securement of breathing tubes to a newborn infant's head. Typically, straps are wrapped around the infant's head such that the tube(s) can be attached to the straps. This “head gear” may also include a knit cap in combination with the straps. Once the “head gear” is fitted onto the infant's head, the supply tubes, e.g., breathing tubes, are attached to the “head gear.” This method is preferred as it allows the tubes to move with the infant's head movements. While common practice, these devices and methods are tedious and laborious to manufacture and attach to an infant's head. In many cases clinicians are devising make shift methods using safety pins and rubber bands to stabilize breathing tubes. With the increasing costs of healthcare and an increasing burden on caregivers to treat more and more patients in a reduced amount of time, these tedious and laborious devices and methods are proving to be too time consuming. Accordingly, there is a need for a more effective, efficient, and ergonomic device for securing a tube to a patient, particularly with respect to the securement of a breathing tube to an infant's head. Further, there is a need for an effective and efficient manufacturing process for making such devices.